The Devils Justice
by TheCoolest7248
Summary: Izuku Midoriya had his dreams crushed by the number 1 hero at the young age of 7. There was no way to become a hero without a quirk. But as he is giving up his last hopes on his dream, a new option comes to light. He might not be able to be a pro, but he can become a hero. And he will be the one serving the devil's justice to the criminals he catches. Quirkless!Deku Vigilante!Deku
1. Never Meet Your Heroes

"_Never meet your heroes, because they're sure to disappoint you."_

_\- Unknown_

* * *

_"Enough, Kacchan!" A small green haired boy ran between the three bullies and a crying kid as they pushed him onto the ground. "You already made him cry! Stop it!"_

_The three bullies laughed at the boy. The one in the middle, Kacchan, made an explosion within his palm as the one on his left spread out his red wings and the one on his right stretched out his fingers to poke the boy in the chest. _

_"So Deku, the quirkless wonder thinks he can play hero huh?" Kacchan stepped forward with a grin on his face. "Looks like someone needs to teach you a lesson!"_

_The green haired boy tried to dodge as Kacchan grabbed both of his wrist but was all but helpless as the bully created another small explosion in his face. The boy with the extending fingers held his head still as Kacchan scorched the green haired boy's clothes and skin with the explosions from his palms. The winged bully walked past them and continued beating up the other child._

_"Stop it!" The green haired boy shouted in vain. "Leave him alone!"_

_The bullies laughed again. "You going to use your quirk to stop us, then?" The boy with the extending fingers teased. "Oh, that's right, you don't have one!"_

_When all was said and done, the other boy had passed out and the green haired boy sat next to him to see if he was okay. "I'm sorry." The green haired boy mumbled. "When I grow up, I will be a hero. No matter what anyone says, I won't let people suffer from bullies like them."_

* * *

_The first incident was in Qing Qing City, China. An extraordinary child was born who radiated light. After that, reports to people with superpowers popped up all across the globe. No one knew what was causing these quirks. Before long, the supernatural became the totally normal. Dreams a reality. The world became a superhuman society with about 80% of the population possessing some uncanny ability. Our streets looked like scenes from comic books. As city swirled with chaos and confusion; a new profession dominated our collective consciousness. It was an age of heroes._

_With the rise of superpowers, came an explosive increase in criminal activity. While governments were stuck trying to figure out how to reform laws with quirks in mind, courageous people started performing heroic acts to keep our cities safe. Protecting us against villains who abuse their power for evil. With overwhelming public support, heroes found an official place as peacekeepers, overseen by the government. Those who performed the best would be paid the most and get all the fame and glory. Their career depends on their abilities to stay in the spotlight._

_And then, there was _him_. The greatest among them. All Might. Since his debut, crime rates have dramatically decreased just by his presence. They don't just call him the symbol of peace. It's what he is. Ever since I understood what a hero was, I have looked up to All Might and wanted to be just like him. To be able to save people with a fearless smile; that was my goal._

* * *

Izuku Midoriya found it impossible to stand still as he waited in the line for autographs from his favorite hero and idol. Ever since he was able to understand Japanese, he looked up to and wanted to be like All Might. He wanted to be the kind of hero he was; a hero who crush bad guys in one punch and who always smiled, no matter how much danger he was in. And now he was in line to meet the man himself – and getting an autograph as well, no less. The seven-year-old boy was barely holding back a squeal of excitement.

Izuku wasn't much to look at from a glance. The freckles now just starting to pop up on his face paired with his unkempt curly green hair that resembled a mop more than anything did nothing to make him seem like anything but a naïve child. The fact that he was a quirkless foster child and wanted to be a hero just made it worse, making him the main prospect for bullying in his school. But that wasn't going to stop him from being a hero. He may not have a flashy power, or extra limbs to help him fight, or even a mental power that made him more capable in school. The only power he had was being able to analyze heroes from watching their fights, a skill he had learned and continued to improve as he continued to watch heroes in action.

He was on his fourth notebook now, each of the notebooks before having their 100 pages filled to the brim. He did reanalyze some heroes here and there; for example, All Might had an entry in every notebook he had, each of them progressing in detail. _Hero Analysis for the Future._ That's what he called them. If he couldn't have a flashy power of his own, he could still know how to fight against those who did.

Snapping back to reality, he realized he had not moved from his spot even though the line had moved a few meters. Running forward to catch up, he looked past the two people in front of him to try if he could spot his hero. From his spot on the line, he could see the tall V-shape of his golden hair, which always managed to stay locked in the unique style no matter how windy it was.

As the next person was called up, Izuku finally got a good look at his hero. He was by far the largest person he had ever seen, with muscles so large the impressions from them bleed through his suit. He wore his usual smile that he was never seen without. His eyes gleamed a brilliant ocean blue and he wore his newest costume: The Silver Age. His suit was a colorful full-body spandex suit that consisted of a red top with white lines and curves going over the top to add some flair to it. He wore a golden belt with a silver buckle that mimicked his hair shape as well as golden boots and bracers. His pants were a dark navy blue with white covering the right and left sides of his thighs. His suit was topped off with a cape that had blue cloth on the outside and red cloth on the inside. All of it was designed with his high-powered quirk in mind and lined with special materials so that it wouldn't be destroyed by his own energy.

Someone tapped the boy's shoulder, snapping him out of admiring the hero. He quickly realized it was his turn and ran up to meet him. The hero chuckled as Izuku stood their staring at him, "You know you can say something, young man. I'm not going to bite."

"Oh! I'm sorry! You just look so much cooler in person! I never thought I would be able to meet you and I just don't know what to say! I have so many questions and I want to get to know you more, but I know people are waiting and I don't know what to ask, and I…" Izuku started his habit of rambling as he gained the courage to speak. He could have gone on for hours if the Pro Hero didn't stop him before he got too carried away.

"Wow, and here I thought you were a quiet one. Try and pick one question and I'll answer to the best of my ability," All Might said chuckling. "And while you are at it, what do you want me to sign for you?"

"Oh sorry!" Izuku bowed his head as he apologized. "It's an old habit. I get carried away sometimes." Izuku pulled a tiny notebook out of his jacket pocket. It was much smaller than all his other notebooks, being only as big as his two hands put together, but it consisted of only one hero entry dedicated to All Might himself. "Please sign my notebook. I take notes on all heroes and their quirks and this one I dedicate to you!"

The hero chuckled. "Ah, taking notes for the future, eh? Want to become a hero?"

"Yes, more than anything," Izuku answered without hesitation. "My name is Izuku Midoriya, by the way. Do you think I can become a hero?"

"Why, of course. No matter your quirk, anyone has a chance on becoming a hero. It all depends on how you use it."

Izuku frowned noticing All Might assumed he had a quirk. "Okay, let me rephrase that. Do you think someone who is quirkless can become a hero?"

All Might didn't respond immediately as his smile grew less noticeable. His voice lost its usual carefree tone as it grew serious. "No. I'm sorry for being blunt, but there are villains out there that simply cannot be beat without a quirk."

Izuku's breath hitched as he heard his idol's words. They weren't especially new to hear; he had heard it all his life from everyone he met. His quirklessness was the cause of his mom putting him in the foster system and the main motive for people to bully him. He was constantly put down for his want to be a hero and told to give it up every day by the owners of the orphanage he stayed at. But there was something different about hearing it from All Might. "I-I… can't?"

All Might sighed and put his pen down before he could sign the notebook. He looked at the green haired boy with concern. "Without a quirk, it is simply too dangerous. There is nothing wrong with dreams, son. But you need to make sure they are obtainable. It's not fair, but that's reality."

Izuku nodded and took the notebook from All Might before he could react. "I'm… Never mind… Thank you for your time." Without waiting for a response from his idol, Izuku walked away.

* * *

Izuku decided not to take the train back to the orphanage. He didn't want to go back immediately and wanted some time to himself. It's not like the people there would care if he was out late. His mother had put him in the foster system as soon as he was diagnosed quirkless when he turned four, and everyone who went to adopt someone there were always looking for a kid with a flashy power. _'__He was so quick to support someone who had a quirk, no matter what kind. But as soon as he finds out that person has none, he takes away his support.'_

Izuku kicked a can laying on the sidewalk angrily, making it bounce away into a nearby alleyway. "Fucking hypocrite!" Izuku shouted at the top of his lungs. He had never cursed before, but for some reason he had the urge to do so at this moment.

He froze as he heard a voice from the alleyway he just passed, "Didn't your mother tell you not to liter?" Looking towards the alley, a large man in ragged and torn clothing stood holding the can in his hand. "You know, some people pay fines for littering if they get caught."

Izuku stared at the man without a word. The man's complexion was ruined by the obvious use of drugs and he smelled as if he hadn't taken a bath in months. Izuku knew this guy was bad news, but he couldn't force his legs to move and run away. Finally, he was able to speak, stuttering out a response, "I-I… I'm sorry. I'll be more careful next time."

The man frowned at the response. "So? Are you going to pay the fine? I usually have to pay 30,000 yen when I get caught for it, so I'll let you off the hook with 50,000." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife to make his point, sending Izuku's pulse into overdrive.

"I'm s-sorry! I-I only have 2,000 yen! I'll give you everything I have just please let me go," Izuku panicked, hastily moving to empty his pocket of the paper and coins inside it.

"That's not even close to the fee. But not to worry, I have an idea! Let's go back into the ally and you can pay me in some other way," the man smirked as he got closer to the paralyzed seven-year-old, reaching out to grab him before a large figure jumped down from the rooftop next to the pair and landed on top of him.

"Preying on children?! Disgusting!" A gruff male voice came from the figure as he slammed the muggers face into the sidewalk, knocking the druggie out. Izuku stared at the large man who saved him in awe. The man looked to be in his forties or fifties based on the creases forming on his face, but was easily as large as All Might himself, if not just a little smaller. He wore a dark brown leather trench coat with a tight-fitting gray shirt underneath that showed off his heavily muscled six pack. He wore dark blue jeans and brown boots, making him look more like a civilian more than anything if not for the black wraparound mask tied over the top of his head and eyes as well as the oversized brass knuckles he wore on his hands. He looked up at the boy from his position on top of the mugger after he checked the inside of his mouth for something, noting the blackened tongue. "Looks like this guy was just a lowly drug fiend. You alright, boy?"

Izuku nodded fervently at his rescuer. "Thank you, sir! What hero are you?! I've never seen a pro that dresses like you." Izuku scrambled to get his pencil and the notebook he was currently working on to record what hero had saved him in it.

"Oh no, boy. I'm not a pro. But I call myself Knuckleduster: Janitor of the Fist," he stated the ridiculous name proudly raising his right fist in the air while Izuku suppressed a laugh. "I'm a vigilante, kid. I don't get paid for saving people, I do it to get drugs like the one this guy was obviously using off the streets. Unfortunately, this person hasn't used it in a while, I doubt he can lead me to the source."

"Do you think a quirkless person can be a hero?" Izuku blurted out without thinking. He internally cursed himself and prepared himself internally for the man's inevitable response.

The man paused for a few seconds, considering the question. "If you are asking if a quirkless person can be a pro, then I will say that the heroes of today are too stuck up to allow that to happen." Knuckleduster responded with an edge in his voice as Izuku lowered his head in defeat. "But, with proper training, equipment and support, anyone, with a quirk or not, can be a hero. If anything, quirkless people have an advantage since the laws against for using one without a license don't even apply to them. So yes, you _can_ become a hero."

Izuku looked at the man wide eyed and at a loss for words as he slung the mugger on his shoulder and carried him off without another word. The words that the man said to him kept repeating in his head. _"You can become a hero."_

Izuku decided in that moment to forget being a pro hero. Instead he was going to go for something more realistic. A _vigilante_ hero.

* * *

_Here's the sad truth. All men are not created equal. When I was four years old, I learned that some kids have more power than others. When I was seven years old, I was again humbled by my lack of a quirk. But that won't hold me back. If anything, it pushes me to do better. I will become a hero. Even if no one else believes in me; even after All Might told me no; that just gives me encouragement. Since then, it's my goal to prove them wrong._

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Whew! First chapter of my first ever fanfiction done! I have done a lot of writing with original works for my family to read (don't ask to see them, some of them get into some very personal details about my life) in the past, but considering I discovered this site recently, I'm pretty new to the fanfiction writing scene.**

**Now I know I'm being a bit of a hypocrite when I made this story an AU, considering on my bio it says that I will not be doing much AU's. However, after seeing some vigilante Izuku stories here, I decided to put my own spin on things. I might do a villain Deku too if I feel like it, because I really only have found one that has kept me interested and it isn't really that consistent in being updated. **

**As with all the stories I write, I am writing this for someone in my family to read, but she has never heard of this manga/show (let alone watch anime in general), so I might repeat some things that happened in canon for her to understand the context. I'm kind of worried I might fuck something up on this story and don't want to get things wrong, so please give me your thoughts/comments/suggestions!**

* * *

**Fun Fact:**

**The 30,000 yen fine ($ 300 in US) is actually a real littering fine in Kyoto, Japan. Kind of glad I don't live there, because I'm sure the police would enforce it if that kind of money was on the line, and I don't like the idea of being short 300 bucks because I missed the trash can.**


	2. Seigi Akuma

**Holy shit! When I posted the first chapter of this story, the last thing I expected was 25+ follows/favorites overnight! Even if you don't leave a review, just following the story makes me feel like I'm doing **_**something**_** right, so thank you! Now as for responding to reviews, I'm not a fan of the PM system on this site (It won't let me access my PM's on the phone app for some reason), so I'll be responding to them here before each chapter!**

**SilentResistance: **Glad you're so excited, man! Not to worry, I have an outline planned for chapters going all the way to the Final Exam Arc (Though not everything is set in stone). Lots of exciting stuff till then, so stay tuned!

**Electricpantaloons: **Ha! Knuckleduster and Izuku?! Not in this story! I'm sorry if I disappointed you, but Knuckleduster and Izuku never trained together. Knuckleduster only gave Izuku the encouragement to pursue vigilantism. Not to worry though, I have a whole backstory on the other vigilante that trained him, and it will be much more suspenseful than Knuckleduster (Plus, I'm not sure how effective a 13-year-old using brass knuckles like Knuckleduster would be even slightly effective).

On to your other point about Daredevil, I had never heard of that superhero until you mentioned it and I looked him up. And here I thought I came up with something original; those two have huge similarities on how they treat criminals.

Short chapters may appear here and there (like this one here), it all depends on how much I feel comfortable cramming into a big chapter. As for pairing with Izuku, I haven't decided if I am going to pair him with anyone yet. I'll keep Mina in mind if I do, but with his new ruthless vigilante persona, I'm not sure if Mina will be too scared of him to get close to him. She isn't exactly the _bravest_ person in the class, if you get what I mean.

**Guest (Meh42): **Glad you liked it! Like I said last chapter, I have years of experience writing original works for my family. That and I spend around a week just editing chapters before they go out to make sure they are perfect. I will probably have 6 chapters written by the time this chapter is posted, all waiting to be edited and make it flow better.

**Midnight2200: Patience is a virtue.**

**Alright, with those reviews out of the way, on to the next chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

"_Sometimes, the only way to get justice is to take it for yourself."_

_\- Leigh Bardugo, Crooked Kingdom_

* * *

**8 Years Later:**

"Make this easier on yourself and stop running," Shouta Aizawa shouted to the fleeing criminal as he raced through the streets after him. Despite Aizawa erasing his strength enhancing quirk however, the criminal had little trouble running at a pace where Aizawa had a hard time keeping up. Still though, the Erasure hero was gaining on him.

Technically, the Aizawa was at a disadvantage if the two fought, even with him erasing the criminal's quirk. He wasn't on patrol when the villain crashed the stolen car into the coffee shop he was at, and as such he wasn't in his hero costume and didn't have his gear. The only advantage he had was his quirk: the ability to take his opponents away from them as long as he was looking at them. Without his nano alloy lined capture scarf, he was limited to hand to hand combat, which posed a serious problem to someone with a strength enhancing quirk once he was forced to blink. Still, when no other heroes are around, _someone_ has to pick up the slack.

His co-worker, Hizashi Yamada, or Present Mic as he was known in the hero world, was not nearly as fast as Aizawa, so he had stayed back to help the terrified woman that was in the car while Aizawa gave chase. A choice he was now regretting. _'Damnit Hizashi! If you were here, you could stun him long enough for me to catch him!'_

A small black cylinder fell from a gutter as the villain rounded a corner, and before the Erasure hero could recognize what it was, the flashbang exploded in a massive wave of white light. _'Of all the times! Where the hell did that come from?!'_

Aizawa covered his extremely sensitive eyes that felt like two balls of lava buried inside his skull and feel back onto his knees. As he regained the vision in his eyes, he quickly realized that he couldn't see the villain past the tears welling up in them. He'd lost him.

Giving a heavy sigh, he got onto his feet and pulled out his phone to tell Hizashi the bad news, being interrupted by the sound of a scream. With a new lead he pocketed the phone and crept slowly to where the scream was heard. If the villain had a new hostage, then it wouldn't be a good idea provoking him until he knew the situation.

Rounding another corner, he started picking up the sounds of a conversation. The first voice was deep and distorted, like something was being used to mask it's sound. "Do you know who I am?"

The second voice was hoarse and weak, and it was obvious that it belonged to the villain who now sounded to be in extreme pain. "Y-Yes. P-Please I haven't—"

"QUIET!" The distorted voice silenced the pleas of the villain before he could make his request with the sound of metal hitting flesh and another scream accompanying it. Aizawa peeked around another corner where the voices were coming from to gain a view of the pair.

The villain was on his hands and knees in front of the newcomer, clutching his chest with one of his hands and bleeding from the nose. His left knee was bent at an unnatural angle and he stared at the newcomer with pure fear, shaking like a leaf.

The newcomer, however, was completely unharmed. He was very short, no taller than a 14-year-old kid. He held a metal staff in front of him, blood dripping from the end, and wore a dark green hoody with bright green stripes along the seams. Along with leather straps weapon holsters carrying various knives and other gadgets, he wore tan cargo pants, bright red oversized boots and black leather gloves. Although Aizawa could not see the face with the hood up, he could make out the two handles of swords sticking out from behind each shoulder and what looked like a pistol holstered on his thigh, though it looked more like a dart gun and definitely didn't shoot actual bullets.

"Villains like you are the devils of this world," The hooded man's disgust with the criminal was clearly heard even through the distorted voice. "You must be taught through the same pain that you have brought on others for there to be justice and learn from your wrongs. Now it is your turn to feel the pain of the devil's justice."

Aizawa decided he had listened enough and revealed himself as the hooded man rose his staff to strike the villain once more. The sound of his footsteps got the man's attention, and he looked up to face Aizawa, halting the motion of his weapon. He wore gear to cover every inch of skin on his face, goggles with tinted lenses that barely let Aizawa make out his emerald eyes and a dark green device over his mouth, no doubt the device that was distorting his voice. The rest of his skin was covered by a black ski mask he wore underneath the goggles and the device, making the only distinguishing feature about what lied underneath his being his eyes.

"I thought that flashbang would have distracted you at least long enough for me to finish my business with this man, Eraserhead," the hooded figure addressed Aizawa by his hero name, much to his surprise. "You are without your goggles and scarf. You didn't stand a chance in a fight against this guy, yet you still chased after him and eventually found me. Admirable, but stupid." The figure looked toward the villain once more, careful to keep Aizawa within his vision as he addressed him. "Change of plans, scum. When you get out of prison, I will come for you. Eraserhead is here to take you there now. Until we meet again."

With the final warning to the villain, he pressed a button on his staff and retracted it to the size of one of his knifes, not bothering to put it on his belt as he quickly climbed a pipe to the top of a building next to him. Aizawa ignored the villain and dashed after the unknown figure, reaching the roof seconds after him to find nothing. _'Appearing and disappearing out of thin air; recognizing me without my costume and scarf; beating that villain and making him beg for his life using a simple staff? Just who in the world is this guy?'_

Nothing but questions went through Aizawa's mind as he made his way back to the villain, who was now pleading with the hero to lock him up for the rest of his life and throw away the key. "Please! If you heroes are as good as they say you are, then please don't release me from prison to be tracked down by that guy!"

"Be quiet! I'm making a call!" Aizawa growled as he pulled out his phone and dialed his longtime friend and co-worker's number.

"What's up Sho?! Did you catch the guy?!" Hizashi answered in his iconic and overly loud voice, making Aizawa cringe and the villain stop begging to listen.

"Not exactly. I need you to call the police and tell them to meet at the alley on 386 Karasuma Street. Send an ambulance as well. I can't talk much now; I need to make sure this guy survives his injuries here." Aizawa responded in as much of a neutral tone he could manage with his friend.

"Oh! Did he hurt someone else?!" Hizashi questioned, though it was evident he wasn't overly concerned if Eraserhead had caught him in the end.

"No. Some guy in a hoody showed up and beat the snot out of him. I wasn't able to catch that guy though."

"Oh, I gotta hear more about _that_ later. No worries bro! I'll let the cavalry know to pick the guy up," Hizashi said in a cheerful tone before hanging up to call the police.

As soon as Aizawa hung up, the villain went back to begging to protect him from the hooded man. "Please! That man has sent a lot of people to the hospital! I don't want to face him again!"

"Would you shut up!?" Aizawa stepped closer to the villain, picking him up and setting his back against a wall. He started inspecting his left knee, ripping off the bloodstained pants leg to reveal the shattered kneecap. As he started to stem the flow of blood, he addressed the villain again, "Now you can talk. Who was that guy?"

"He's the devil!" The villain was panicking so much, he was unaware of the pain he was in. "Please you can't let him find me again! I'll stay in prison for the rest of my life! Heck, I would take a death row sentence if it means he doesn't catch me! Please!"

"Stop begging," Aizawa glared at the man, looking up from the finished bandages that would keep him from bleeding out till the ambulance arrived. "Stop begging and tell me something useful. How about his name? What's his name?"

The villain looked in the direction of the pipe the hooded man climbed to get out of the alley before looking back to Aizawa with a fear-stricken expression and speaking in a hushed tone as if someone was listening, "H-His name is… Seigi Akuma."

Aizawa scowled as he heard the hooded man's name. No matter what his questions were, they all lead to a single dreadfully clear answer. As much as he hated to admit it, there was a new vigilante on the loose, one he was sure to hear more of as time went on. _'Great… Another problem child.'_

* * *

Izuku climbed into the small open window to his room in the orphanage, taking off his masks and goggles and throwing his hood down to expose his fluffy green hair. The smile he wore was so large it grew sore, but he didn't care. The fact that he had just met one of his favorite heroes overtook the disappointment of not being able to punish the carjacker properly as he squealed in delight and jumped on to his bunk bed and pulled out his phone to review the video he took of Eraserhead chasing him.

As he watched, he pulled out his notebook from the top drawer of his dresser and wrote his analysis of the hero's run; his footwork as he dodged a trash can the villain knocked over, the way he slid over the hood of a car using his weight and momentum to its fullest potential, and even noting the delayed reaction time to the flashbang. There was one flaw when he knocked over a bystander who didn't get out of the way in time, but Izuku decided he was in no place to judge as he had little experience in chases in crowded areas and would have done the same thing.

Moving on to the villain, Izuku started the video over to where the villain had first put a gun to the head of the female driver and forced her to the passenger seat. Unlike Eraserhead however, the villain was full of mistakes in everything he did. Usually he would be upset when people relied on their quirk to much, but for this villain the opposite was true. His quirk was, by all accounts, powerful as well as versatile. Similar to the villain Muscular, who was still at large much to Izuku's dismay, his quirk allowed him to increase the size of his muscles by an exponential degree, being limited only as far as his skin could stretch, compared to Muscular who could wear his muscle fibers outside his body. Although limited in how much he could increase his strength, it would have easily beaten Eraserhead and Present Mic when Eraserhead was forced to blink, but instead he panicked and emptied his gun's magazine once he realized his quirk was temporarily erased. In his panic he missed every time, and had he held them at gunpoint until Eraserhead had to blink again, he would have been able to gain his quirk back and beat them without a problem. The subsequent fleeing of the scene and running like away like a headless chicken did nothing to prove he was semi-competent either, as he kept on running in circles with no idea where to go. _'Just goes to prove how well thought out his plans were.'_

Izuku sighed as he finished his notes. "Honestly, the intelligence of some of these guys. It's a shame I didn't get to see Eraserhead with his scarf. I have heard a lot of good things about how he uses it to move around," Izuku mumbled to himself, falling into his long-time habit of muttering his thoughts out loud.

Izuku laid his head down on his pillow, relaxing for the precious few minutes before he needed to get changed. Dinner at the orphanage was always at 6:30 sharp, meaning he still had a good 40 minutes until someone came knocking on his door to remind him to come eat with the others. He looked to the far wall, the one where he laid out plans and analyzed heroes and stuck them on the wall with thumbtacks. In the center of it all was a three-column table in which he classified heroes.

'Undecided heroes' had only written names held by thumbtacks under the title. All of them needed more research before he was able to move them to another section. Heroes like Death Arms, Kamui Woods and Backdraft were too new to the hero scene for Izuku know how to classify them and Eraserhead and Present Mic will probably need more studying to know their intentions.

The opposite side of the table held the column for 'True Heroes' and unlike the other category, has pictures instead of names. Heroes like Ingenium, Edgeshot, Fourth Kind and the Water Hose Duo have impressed Izuku before with their selflessness as well as not caring about money to earn their right to be considered true heroes by him. There are non-pro heroes there as well: Knuckleduster, The Crawler, and even the free agent he met who calls himself Dabi all considered true heroes through their ideals, despite them not actually being considered heroes by the public.

But the center category is the heroes he holds a deep hatred for. 'False Heroes' is a category reserved for those who care about fame and money more than saving people. These people will not put any consideration to the lowest members of society, only focusing on the biggest threats for the most media attention. Some of their motives might be good, but those people ultimately ignore the poor and weak, and protect only the strong.

The pictures of these heroes overlap each other, barely fitting inside the column and speaking volumes of how corrupt the hero system really is. Pictures of Mt. Lady, Endeavor, Best Jeanist and Mirko are just some of the heroes in this category, and the fact that these heroes are such high ranks leave a sick feeling in his stomach. But none compare the to one in the center of the column, who despite his best intentions, is ultimately incompetent. In the center of the column, with a knife sticking through the forehead of the picture instead of a thumbtack is the image of 'The Symbol of Peace'. All Might.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Oh wow! Big personality shift, isn't it? Not to worry, I will be explaining his personality shift that occurred through his training with the vigilante most of you could probably guess right now. I'm not having any subtlety with it, as the person who I'm making this for has never watched the show and has no idea who the guy is.**

**So what did you think of Seigi Akuma? Let me know your thoughts/comments/suggestions and tell me if I am fucking things up because that's the last think I want to do.**

**Going to try to make this weekly, but no promises on that. Until next time!**

* * *

**Fun Fact:**

**Seigi Akuma (****正義悪魔****) in English translates into Justice Devil. Izuku gets this name for his words toward the villain in this chapter, as well as his words towards villains in the past: "Now it is your turn to feel the pain of the devil's justice."**


	3. Vigilante

**Another chapter gets past my ridiculously high standards of perfection! But before that, I have some stuff to address. So, I'm getting some request for pairings, as you can see. If you want me to pair Izuku with someone, please give me a reason on why you think it could work! Despite me writing, making mods for Fallout and even getting a degree in Engineering – all of which need a lot of creativity – I have ****_none_****. I simply take inspiration from everything I see and combine them all to make something beautiful. So, ****_please_****, give me some inspiration. Next up, we got some reviews to be answered and then the chapter can begin!**

**MosesArk Reborn2000: **Was it that obvious? I know, I know. I could have gone for a bigger reveal later, but subtlety is not a word in my vocabulary. Anyway, no, he was not trained by Stain. He was trained by Stendhal: the person Stain was before he went on his killing spree. I will explain why the definitions of true hero differ between the two but suffice to say right now that it has a lot to do with Izuku's analyzing and I will go into it in the future. There is also a lot more to Izuku and All Might than what is said in the first chapter, and that will be explained further as well.

Shinozaki actually wouldn't be a bad pairing (If you could get past the fact that she makes Christianity seem like a cult). She could definitely be a limiting factor in his bloodlust. Will have to figure out if I would keep her in Class 1-B or swap her with someone, but I like the idea!

**Guest 1: **No. I will not be doing a One Punch Man story.

**Guest 2: **I'm guessing you are the same person, so I'll say it again: _NO ONE PUNCH MAN_! This story is loosely based on my struggles as a child, and I don't want to turn this into an unrealistic training of the body to the point where he can beat All Might without a quirk, thus losing any similarities Izuku has to me. I want Izuku to be weak against strong enemies and able to use his mind to beat them rather than brawn.

As for Izuku/Ochaco, give me a reason why you think it could work and I'll consider it.

**SilentResistance: **Thank you! Izuku and All Might have a lot of bad blood between them, that's for sure. Eraserhead will be getting an answer in this chapter, but I'm still deciding on Present Mic. Izuku is currently slated to be asexual for now, but as MosesArk said, Shinozaki could be a major element in curbing his bloodlust and now I am seriously considering a pairing with her. We'll just have to wait and see!

**With that rant and those reviews out of the way, on to the third chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

"_Vigilantes are people who voluntarily carry out duties usually done by heroes, using their quirks to do so. However, public display of Quirks and use of them to cause injury are against the law. They may feel like heroes, but objectively they're villains, not people to be inspired by."_

_\- Shouta Aizawa (Pro Hero: Eraserhead)_

* * *

"You are telling me you have no clue who this guy is?" Shouta Aizawa was not having a good week. First, he had to expel his entire homeroom class at UA for not taking heroics seriously, then a villain crashes into his favorite coffee shop who was subsequently beat up by a completely unknown vigilante, and now his usual source of information on the vigilante world has no idea who the guy is. To make matters worse, he has been operating for four years now, and this is the first Aizawa has heard of him. _'I grew lax once all these vigilantes started hanging up their coats. Why didn't I notice this new one sooner?'_

"Eraser, we retired around the same time he showed up. We didn't even know he was still out there before you told us." A man who looked to be in his late twenties spoke for the woman next to him as he looked at the pro hero. He still wore the limited edition All Might hoodie he used when he had worked as a vigilante all those years ago, with it bearing the tears and dirt stains to prove it. Otherwise, he looked completely normal: an uncombed mop of jet-black hair, clean shaven with subtle spots of scaring from freckles in his youth and ocean blue eyes. It is hard to believe that four years ago, he was a vigilante known as the Crawler who took it upon himself to patrol his hometown when pros wouldn't.

"Yeah, we have been to busy with my modeling to care anymore. After I got my quirk license, we kinda just cut ties." The woman next to the man – dressed in a hoody, baggy jeans and oversized glasses – looked unassuming as well. With pink hair covering most the face that the tinted glasses didn't cover as well as missing her usual skimpy outfit, it was hard to recognize her as the former vigilante called PopStep. Now working as a model and getting a license to use her quirk in her shows, she had stopped working as a vigilante four years ago as well, with the Crawler becoming her manager.

"Do you know anything about him? Did he have any contacts, or did you see him use his quirk?" Aizawa didn't even bother responding to PopStep on her comment on modeling. He hated people wanting public attention, thinking they slowed down the reporting of _actual_ stories on the news and turning it into one on one interviews and life stories instead of what can be done to fix the broken society they live in. When he heard that the last two members of the infamous 'Naruhata Vigilantes' were getting engaged and hanging up their coats to go into the modeling business on his normal news station, he had lost all respect he had gained for them over the three years of knowing them before.

"Now that you mention it, he did have one guy he usually fought with when we saw him," the Crawler said as he looked at his wife, who nodded in confirmation. "Tall guy, wore a metal mask. Sorta looked like one of those drama masks you see in those old plays. He had some kinda quirk that worked with blood, but I don't remember his name."

"Yeah, the guy had a lot of swords and knifes, just like the guy you're looking for," PopStep said typing on her phone and then showing the screen to Aizawa. The image was extremely blurry, and judging by the lack of color, was probably taken from a surveillance camera; but it was clear enough to show the other vigilante they were describing, who seemed to carry a lot more bladed weapons than Seigi Akuma. "I don't remember seeing the green dude use his quirk though."

"Seigi Akuma," Aizawa corrected. "Is the other vigilante still active?"

The Crawler took a sip from his coffee shaking his head. "No. He disappeared after Knuckleduster beat the hell out of him when he tried killing a villain. Knuckleduster may have been savage when it came to apprehending villains, but he didn't abide killing anyone. Judging the fact that your Seigi Akuma guy was there and didn't help his friend, I would guess he felt the same way as Knuckleduster. Wouldn't be surprised if he had died from his injuries."

"Yeah, well, Seigi Akuma would even give that old bastard a run for his money in the savage beatings department. I skimmed through his known sightings last night. Although he hasn't killed anyone, there are some guys he has 'apprehended' still on feeding tubes."

PopStep gave a small gasp on that statement, her face turning pale. "That seems a bit excessive."

Aizawa glared at the model before she could say anymore. He hadn't invited her to this meeting because he thought she wouldn't have a lot of information and would point out the obvious, and now he was being proven correct. Internally cursing the Crawler's initiative on bringing his wife, he turned to the man in question and continued, "You wouldn't know how to get in contact with Knuckleduster on this, would you?"

The man in question gave a smile. "No. Even if I knew how to contact him, I wouldn't tell you. That man is too old to be bothered with this stuff anymore and deserves his peace. Not many people can walk out of vigilantism and heroics for 30 years straight and still have a family to go back to."

Aizawa sighed at the utter waste of time that this meeting became. He had been here for two hours and still had no leads. He was about to get up and leave when PopStep spoke up again. "Hold on Eraser. I got something you might be interested in." PopStep handed her phone to the pro hero. "Looks like that Seigi Akuma guy is popular in his own right. He's got a YoTube channel. He even posted a video on you last night."

Aizawa looked at the YoTube channel on the phone. Unsurprisingly under the username Seigi-Akuma072986, the channel has a measly 14 subscribers, but his post section listed over 1,000 videos about various topics, ranging from analyzing villain's weaknesses to the motives of pro heroes. The latest video, posted at 9:47 last night, was titled _Pro Hero Analysis 206: Eraserhead: A True Hero_.

Wincing at the name of the video, Aizawa handed the phone back to PopStep. "This is getting worse and worse by the minute. Thanks for the info, I need to go back to see how much of a problem this kid is going to become." Aizawa stood up and shook hands with the Crawler and ignoring PopStep's outstretched hand. "I swear, you problem children will be the death of me."

"Ah, come on Eraser! You love us and you know it!"

"Shut up."

* * *

The husk of a train, twisted and torn, laid on the street below the tracks looking as filled with corpses and the screaming the injured. Cars reduced to little more than pancakes, buses torn in half and nearby shops reduced to little more than splinters. A hero wearing a red vest and a black lightly armored suit underneath lay bleeding profusely from a gaping hole in her chest exposing her ribs. A male hero in the same attire stood next to her shaking in fear of the huge villain in front of him.

"You know, for being at a disadvantage, you did very well to get this far," the villain said menacingly. He was completely covered in muscle fibers all over his body, leaving only the only skin visible on him on his head. His fists were stained in blood and several shards of metal and wood were jabbed inside his arms and legs. He was dripping wet with water, the only sign of an attempt from the two water-based heroes fighting back against the villain. "But you guys are weak. You can't give me a real fight."

A green hooded figure jumped down from one of the nearby buildings and landed next to an abandoned car as the overly muscled villain stepped closer to the two injured heroes. The man stood taller, despite the deep gash in his left thigh. Putting his hands together and slowly spreading them apart as a ball of highly compressed water started gathering between them in the effort of one final attack. The muscled villain grew closer by the second, cracking his neck with a maniacal grin on his face as he prepared to finish the hero off.

The water between the hero's hands reached a peak amount of compression to make his final attack, the muscled villain raised his fist. Everyone stopped moving when a headlight turned on and illuminated the two, turning to see the source. A figure in a green hoodie sat behind the wheel of a battered red car, windshield shattered to allow the figure to speak without rolling down a window. "Hey Muscular!" A distorted voice taunted. "Leave the Water Hose duo alone and pick on someone your own size."

Without anymore warning, the figure dropped a brick against the gas petal and locked a staff in the wheel to keep to from moving as he jumped out. The car lurched forward and the villain known as Muscular turned to defend himself against the rapidly accelerating car. Taking his chance, the hero released the pressurized water to the villain's face, making the villain scream and claw at his damaged face as the car hit him, sending him flying and destroying the engine of the car. The green figure ran up to the male hero, raising a staff in front of him and blocking the direction between the hero and the injured villain.

"Mr. Izumi. Please take your wife somewhere safe. You are too injured to carry on and I'm afraid she doesn't have long," The hooded figure said in a distorted voice as the villain lifted himself off the ground. The heavy-set man was bleeding profusely from the left side of his face, and in the place of his eye was a clump of blood. "I will hold off Muscular until more pros arrive. He should have trouble with depth perception and hitting me now that he is missing one of his eyes. I already called it in on every agency nearby, but you cannot leave your only child an orphan."

The male hero nodded without hesitation and limped towards his wife to move her out of danger as the villain picked out shards of metal and glass from his torso. The villain grinned at the hooded figure, not paying any mind to his own injuries. "I've heard about you. You might give me a real fight unlike those two losers." Strings of muscle fibers shot out from the joints in his hips and shoulders and along his back, quickly locking themselves in place over the existing ones and coming close to doubling his size. "Alright, vigilante. **SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!**"

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**I am so cruel, aren't I? Do you think Izuku will be able to hold his own against Muscular until backup arrives or will Muscular come out on top? **

**On another note, I guess that answers your question on Eraserhead's status for you SilentResistance! He's a true hero!**

**Izuku's YoTube channel has a big part to play in the future, and I won't spoil anything here, so don't ask. Also, whoever can guess the meaning of the numbers in the username before chapter 4 comes out automatically gets their pick on a pairing with Izuku put in the story (This is where research comes in! Good fucking luck! *Evil Laugher*). **

**So, how did you like the Naruhata Vigilantes' cameo in the first part of this chapter? I don't think either of them will return in later chapters, but I kinda wanted to give a little piece of mind on how they are doing now. I kinda liked the idea of PopStep**** and the Crawler getting together eventually, and I liked the end result, so I put it in there.**

* * *

**Fun Fact (Actually two Fun Facts):**

**1: ****Pop****Step's name usually has a star in it (Between the two words), and isn't just decoration. It is in her canon name, even visible in the Japanese version****. I know, I know. I internally groaned as well seeing that she had a star written in her name. **

**2: YoTube is seen in Episode 1 of the anime as the My Hero Academia equivalent for YouTube. God, I really need to stop researching each and everything I write… Stuff would go out a lot faster that way (I'm not kidding when I say I spend at least twice the time researching than I do writing).**


	4. Brains VS Brawn

**Wow. It's amazing how much getting wisdom teeth pulled can do to give you free time. So… Another chapter! Now, before the reviews, I want to make an apology. I made a typo in the numbers in the username. It should be 072986, not 072989. I have corrected it, but I will give you guys until chapter 5 to try guessing again because of the typo. Now for some reviews.**

**fall equinox 1: **Will not give any hints towards the answer. Since I made a typo, you can guess again.

**MosesArk Reborn2000: **Will not give any hints on the answer. Since I made a typo, you can guess again.

The fight between Muscular and Izuku will be something, that's for sure. I'm not an expert in fight scenes (In fact this is the first one I have ever done), but I think I did well on it. Izuku is really smart and wouldn't rush into a fight he doesn't think he can win. Plus, Mr. Izumi did take out his eye, so he will have trouble with depth perception. We will have to see…

**ethanplayz87: **Thanks! When you put it that way, I can defiantly see a pairing between them. The way I am going to restructure Izuku's status in UA, I have made it so that he will be able to have a pairing with someone from either classes, so having an option from Class 1-A opens up a lot more opportunities for me. Izuku is one of those people that cannot stand injustice of any kind, so I'm sure we will see him and Mina growing some kind of relationship in the future, even if it is just friends.

**KaosuAkuma8: **That's because they aren't right, even with that typo. Believe me, I'm just as confused on how they got the batman movie. Then again, the answer would probably take at least twice as long researching it for them than me. It isn't an easy answer, and it definitely can't be solved by a google search.

**Guest: **You answered after I fixed the typo, so I will answer your guess in the next chapter. That means, unfortunately, you don't get another guess like Moses and fall.

**Again, I'll give the two people who guessed (fall and Moses) until chapter 5 to guess again. Sorry about the typo! Next chapter ahead!**

* * *

"_You fight differently, Midoriya. You learn, analyze and retain how to fight just by watching. You memorize weaknesses, exploit them, and take down people who would beat down any other quirkless boy your age just by flicking their fingers. Even as I rush into the fight, you stay on the rooftops until you are sure you can win."_

_\- Unknown Vigilante to Izuku Midoriya, shortly after the two finished training together_

* * *

"**SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!**" Muscular leaped forward at a speed even the Turbo Hero: Ingenium would admire and swung his fist towards the hooded vigilante. It was already obvious his depth perception was hindering his ability to fight as the attack swung wide and lacked the accuracy it had before.

Dodging the poorly aimed attack with as simple sidestep that left only the staff he was holding being knocked out of his hands, Seigi Akuma pulled the sword mounted on his left shoulder with his right hand and quickly threw a volley of three knifes to Muscular's face with his left. "Mr. Izumi! Get her out of here!"

The male member of the Water Hose Duo nodded and lifted his wife up in his arms, running away as fast as his injured leg would allow. Muscular grinned at the fleeing heroes as he dodged the three knifes. "You going to fight me alone? Aren't you a brave one!" He turned menacingly towards the vigilante with a deranged expression. "You know, I've heard that you're the vigilante who refuses to use your quirk. Do you really think you can take me on underestimating me?"

Seigi Akuma stepped back to a distance Muscular couldn't swing at him, throwing three more knifes in the process. "Oh no. I have been watching you for a while. I know your capabilities, your strengths, your _weaknesses_. And I will be damned if I end up dead by underestimating someone."

Muscular grinned, pulling out a knife from the muscles coving his left breast. "Really now? You might have some fight in you after all then." Muscle fibers began to sprout from his hips and knees and forming around his legs. "Fine then." Leaping forward at an even greater speed that would give All Might a run for his money, he swung wildly at his opponent. "**SHOW ME YOUR BLOOD!**"

Seigi Akuma moved to dodge with another sidestep and imbedded the sword inside Muscular's arm. Not even bothering to pull it out, he leaped back as Muscular sent another high-powered punch in his direction. "You have lots of strength, I'll give you that. But as you put more and more muscles on your body, your joints have trouble moving the extra weight and grow slower. You may have ten times the power of one of All Might's punches, but it is useless if your opponent moves too fast for you to hit."

The villain growled, wincing in pain as he pulled the sword out of his arm with a gush of blood, muscles moving back in place over the wound to keep himself from bleeding out. "Don't talk down to me you little shit! I can still beat you even if I had one arm tied behind my back."

Dodging another leap and failed punch towards him, the vigilante laughed, much to the villain's annoyance. "That's another weakness of yours. You think you are unbeatable."

The villain didn't even bother to say something back as he jumped forward with a scream of rage. The vigilante jumped this time, landing on Muscular's shoulders and leaping back onto the ground behind him. A sharp pain emanated from one of his shoulder blades as he turned around to face the vigilante, who was now missing his other sword. "Oh, that makes two more!" The vigilante seemed almost giddy with pointing out his weaknesses. "When you get angry, which you are obviously quick to, you lose all forms of accuracy in your attacks."

Muscular reached for his shoulder blade to pull out the sword from his back, coming up short. His attention turned back to the vigilante when he spoke again, "Don't bother with that! You are too muscled up to reach behind you and take it out. Just another one of your many weaknesses."

Sirens wailed in the distance as the vigilante pulled out what looked to be a pistol from the holster on his thigh. Muscular turned his attention to the nearby buildings to find an escape route but faltered seeing most collapsed. "Now, now, Muscular. You made a huge clearing in your rampage against Water Hose and now anyone can see where you run off too." The vigilante aimed the pistol at Muscular. "And for my final act, I will reveal your biggest weakness: muscles are moved by electric currents."

Muscular didn't even have time to register the bang of the gun as an electric dart shot forward and made contact with his muscles. Every centimeter of the muscles that had grown around him started to spasm under the electric impulses sent from the dart and he fell to the ground in what could only be described as an artificially induced seizure. He registered a sharp pain in his left shoulder as something exited his body and the smell of burning flesh entered his lungs. He heard the distorted voice saying something but was unable to determine what in his pain. The last thing he saw was a foot coming towards his face, replaced by a sea of black as he passed out.

* * *

Shouta Aizawa didn't even bother talking to the officer as he passed the police tape, simply showing his hero ID and receiving a nod in return. The site he was met with on the other side left a bad taste in his mouth. Fourteen body bags lay in a neat line in front of a destroyed train, one of which he knew contained the female member of Water Hose. He looked to the nearby line of ambulances where he spotted the last surviving member of the duo talking to the police and giving his statement. The villain responsible sat unconscious in a nearby police car with his window rolled down, and even from where Aizawa stood twenty meters away, he could detect the distinct smell of burnt flesh coming through the open window.

The whole thing left Aizawa sick to his stomach. 14 dead – including a pro hero – and 57 injured, 12 of which were in critical condition. All of this done by a single villain and stopped by a single vigilante. It made pro heroes look bad when someone else does their work for them. Police had arrived as Seigi Akuma was making his escape, but under the advice of Mr. Izumi, did not pursue and instead focused on the injured.

Aizawa sighed and walked towards the last member of Water Hose as the police finished with him. No introductions were given, and he went straight to the point, "What happened?"

Mr. Izumi looked towards the Erasure hero and frowned as his gaze fell to the body bags behind him. "That vigilante happened. If he hadn't stepped in, I would not be alive right now."

"Yeah, that's why I'm here. I need you to tell me what the vigilante did and anything we can use to find him," Aizawa didn't see the point in beating around the bush. In his mind, pleasantries and offering condolences were a waste of time.

Mr. Izumi shook his head. "So, you can arrest him for saving dozens of lives, including mine, and preventing my kid from becoming an orphan? No, even if I had any useful information, I wouldn't give it to you. Besides, there is nothing you can arrest him for."

Aizawa went from annoyed that he is withholding information, to angry he didn't have any, to confused about not being able to arrest him all within 30 seconds as Mr. Izumi responded. He paused for a few seconds, digesting that last sentence. "I'm sorry. Why can't we arrest him?"

Mr. Izumi's frown grew more severe as he looked away from the body bags and towards Aizawa. "Because of something Muscular said. He has never used his quirk. According to the law, since he doesn't use a quirk, that makes it legal as it counts towards self-defense."

Aizawa closed his eyes as the words drummed into his head and a headache seemingly appeared out of nowhere. "You are telling me that we can't arrest him because he doesn't use a quirk in his vigilantism?"

Mr. Izumi forced a sorrow filled smile. "I read over the laws twice while I was being examined. No where does it say you can be arrested for causing injury _without_ a quirk. And knowing that villain, he was the one to boast about his abilities. When he said he was fighting someone who didn't use a quirk, I have no doubt he was telling was the truth."

Aizawa sighed. It seemed this new problem child had found a loophole.

* * *

Izuku hauled himself up through his room's window with a groan, collapsing on the hardwood floor inside. A sharp pain filled his sprained wrist that had been hurt when the staff was knocked out of his hand, but other than that was no worse for wear physically. No, after hearing the news, most his injuries were mental. _'Even after stepping in, Mrs. Izumi lost her life. I couldn't get there fast enough and she paid the price.'_

Fourteen dead. That was the price of him analyzing and making sure he could have won that fight. All fourteen were dead because he was busy watching. Izuku looked at his bloodstained gloves, imagining the blood on them belonging to every person that had died from Muscular.

The news was already painting a different picture; one where the Water Hose Duo fought valiantly and defeated Muscular after one of them losing their lives. No where did they mention his involvement, nor did they praise him for saving half of the hero team. No where did they mention what the heroes' kid was going through after loosing one of his parents. No where did they offer condolences to the families that were destroyed. The only thing that was mention was the heroics of the Mr. Izumi and his quick resolution of the issue, despite the high cost.

Izuku understood why. It would be disastrous for the hero world to learn that a vigilante solved a fight where the heroes couldn't cut it. It would lead to more people thinking they could help out without being heroes, and Izuku understood that if they weren't as competent as he was, they would die doing so.

Izuku's phone chimed with a notification. Looking at it showed a new comment on one of his videos on YoTube. The account that commented was named the 'The-WH-Duo' and was a simple two-word comment: _'Thank you'_.

Izuku found his spirits instantly rise. Two words. That was all the gratification he needed. Smiling he opened his window once more to go out. There were still people out there that needed help, and he wasn't going to let a sprained wrist stop him.

* * *

A purple haired boy cried out in pain as a rocky fist made contact with his head. He fell to the ground only for another person to grab him by his hair and lift him up. "Give it up, Shinso. You don't have a quirk that is worthy of being a hero."

The purple haired boy grimaced as the bully taunted him. This was not the first time he had heard those words. Just because of his unique quirk, people told him he was doomed to become a villain. Shinso spit in the face of the blond-haired bully holding him by his hair. "And because you have such a good one, you are going to become the best? Give me a break. A hero is more than just a flashy power. You are too self-centered to become one."

The bully narrowed his red eyes and wiped the spit off his face. "You sound just like Deku did." The bully pushed him against the wall behind him, ripping out more than a few strands of hair as he pulled his hand away. Opening up with a right hook, he scorched the purple haired boy's chest with a large explosion.

The boy gasped in pain as all the air was knocked out of his lungs. His vision became hazy as he hit his head against the wall, and the laughing from the three bullies echoed in his head. He didn't need a doctor to tell him that he might have a concussion.

The laughing was interrupted by a distorted voice, and the purple haired boy watched the blurry images of the three bullies turn towards the sound. "What's going on here? That's no way to treat someone if you want to become a hero."

One of the bullies, the one with extending fingers turned toward the blond with a panicked expression, "Katsuki, isn't that that vigilante guy? Maybe we should go."

The blond scoffed, raising his hand with small firecrackers erupting in his palm. "I don't care who you are, but you can leave now. This has nothing to do with you, extra."

Shinso finally managed to move his head towards the voice, his neck struggling to move his head that felt as heavy as a lump of bricks. A figure in a green hoody stood alone facing off the three bullies. He drew one of his swords on his back and pointed it at the blond-haired boy. "You should listen to your friend, _Katsuki_. Believe me when I say fighting me will not end well for you."

Katsuki took a few steps back, with a new expression Shinso had never seen before in his eyes: fear. "Tch. Let's go guys," Katsuki said trying to keep his voice level and acting tough. "This guy isn't worth our time anyway."

The three bullies left without another word, and the hooded figure walked towards Shinso. Shinso's vision began fading as he realized he was passing out. As he faded to unconsciousness, he heard the figure speaking in its distorted voice. "Ten years later and Kacchan still hasn't learned any manners. God, look what he did to you…"

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Short chapter today. I wanted to get this out fast so I could explain the typo. **

**Did I do well on the fight scene? It's my first time writing one, so if you have any suggestions for improvements, let me know. What do you think of how the media changed the story of what happened? Do you think it was justified? Let me know!**

**Shinso and Kacchan make an appearance! And they go to the same school this time! Deku and Kacchan haven't seen each other for years, but I still wanted him to appear before UA. Shinso and Izuku will have somewhat of a unique relationship in the future, and it will be explained further in the next chapter. Also, Eraser and Izuku will be having another meeting, so stay tuned for that!**

**Until next time!**

* * *

**No Fun Facts Today…**


	5. Quirks are not Everything

**Another chapter past the editing process and sped up because of my new found overabundance of free time. Some good guesses on what the numbers mean, so I will go into the reviews and answer them.**

**Guest: **Answering for you now since I didn't last chapter. It is not a birthday, but you did well in knowing it was in the MHA universe. It is something I had written, but unless you found the same Reddit post as me where I got the year, it would be difficult to solve.

**MosesArk Reborn2000: **Good guesses, but I'm not going to make it something personal in my life and difficult to figure out. The answer was able to be solved by research, however extensive.

I will work on the fight scenes more in the future and endeavor to improve. For my first one, I didn't think it was that bad, but reading it over I can see how it might have been a little bland. I am reworking the next fight scene that happens in a few chapters to make it more interesting, taking some inspiration from other books and fanfictions and how they do things.

I have always figured there was something wrong with Katsuki's school. The teachers did nothing about his bullying, and he was never held accountable by his friends even when he told Izuku to kill himself (personally, I think those two are just as bad as him). He was lucky Izuku saw him, and not someone else. Izuku is… Complicated. There will be more background on why Izuku doesn't say anything about it later, but he isn't doing it out of wanting to be friends with him again like in canon.

**fall equinox 1: **Wow…. Good job on Dark Horse comics, even if it wasn't the answer I was looking for. Good guess though.

**ProjectIceman (First review): **Thank you for the support! I am always a little self-conscious when I post stuff online, so having someone say that means a lot. Maryland's littering fine is interesting, I didn't think that there were fines like that in the US. As for the littering on Dagobah beach, Dagobah beach isn't in Kyoto; it's actually in Musutafu. Now, I don't know what the littering fines are in Musutafu, since it is unique to MHA, but I can guarantee you that it isn't the same as Kyoto with Dagobah beach as it was.

**ProjectIceman (Second review): **Izuku in this universe is more tactical, as you can see. The whole thing about exposing Muscular's weaknesses was to get him angry and thus make him more reckless in the fight. Although the Izuku in this universe is better in fights and uses every tactic to his advantage, it does come at a cost as seen by the number of deaths.

I'm currently debating on Muscular having another appearance somewhere, but I'm still considering it as he will have to break out of prison for it to occur.

Kacchan and Izuku will not be having a strong relationship until UA, with Shinso taking Izuku's role when it comes to interacting with him. Good question on Izuku going to school! Although I haven't mentioned it, Izuku is homeschooled at the orphanage, being unable to pay to go to an actual school (Japan schools are not free unlike the US). I don't have it playing a big part in the story, since it isn't really that important, but I do have it mentioned once or twice in later chapters. School for Izuku will not be a major thing until UA, but that will be an entirely different experience than it was in canon.

**ethanplayz87:** Thanks for the support! Izuku and Mina have been suggested before you, but you gave me a good explanation on how it could work, and I liked the idea. Izuku and Bakugo will not have much of a relationship before UA, as Bakugo doesn't know Seigi Akuma is Izuku, but expect things to get intense once UA begins.

**Koritsia:** Thanks!

**UnlawfulGentleman:** Thanks! To be honest, I had never heard of Daredevil until someone mentioned it. I swear. None of this story is inspired by Marvel. I was inspired from how Stain behaved as a vigilante in illegals. And you can say Stain trained him. It's pretty obvious, and the only reason I haven't mentioned the name in the story is I am reading it to someone who has never read the manga or watched the anime.

Izuku will become more tame in the future, but his brutal fighting style will stay the same. Shinso and Izuku will have a more in-depth relationship than just Izuku's partner, as explained in this chapter, and Nezu has plans for Izuku as well.

As for the date, you are the only one who got the year right, so kudos to you. Izuku's birthday is July 15 however, so it isn't that.

**Now, on to the numbers. The numbers are a date, like everyone correctly assumed, but there was more to it than just a date. The date is July 29, 2186. My Hero Academia canon (excluding the first 3 chapters before UA) takes place 1 year before a leap year according to Tiger's birthday and explained by reddit user doublewhatever in his post called "I just got ONE STEP CLOSER to finding out what year MHA takes place in!" (Look the reddit post up because I can't post links). To make it easier for you guys to guess, I picked one of the years that he gives as the year to use, specifically the last one of 2195 (I picked the last one since that stands out to me more than the middle ones and the first seemed too early). This means chapter 1 in the manga (excluding the flashback) takes place in the year of 2194 and according to established canon also takes place before Izuku's birthday in April, making him 14 at the time (Izuku's birthday is July 15). July 29, 2186 is 8 years before 2194 (2194 is also the year we are in currently in the fanfiction as well), but also after his birthday, making Izuku 7 years old. There has been only one thing that happens in this story so far with Izuku being 7 years old, and I am not going to make it impossible to guess with something I haven't written. Thus, July 29, 2186 is the day Izuku meets All Might at the autograph event and is told he could not be a hero, as well as being the day where he meets Knuckleduster and decides to be a vigilante hero. Wow, I did not think explaining this would take this long. See the amount of research I do for these stories I write? I need to stop because chapters would come out a lot faster. Good guesses everyone, but as I said, it would take more than a simple google search. Honestly, I didn't think anyone would get it, but I wanted to see what you guys could come up with.**

* * *

"_I can already tell these 'quirks' are going to hurt society in many more ways than enforcing laws. I see a much larger scale of discrimination in the younger generation today than the discrimination Jews received during World War II. People without these new powers, or people who have undesirable ones, are ridiculed and put down for it. Just look at the suicide rates for these kids! It has doubled, and I have no doubt quirks are to blame."_

_\- Professor Isaac Ramos responding to appearance of quirks, 2032_

* * *

The sound of metal scraping against metal rang through Shinso's head. The air he breathed was stale and had the scent of decaying wood. His head felt like a brick had been dropped on it, and he could feel the tight wrapping of gauze on around his forehead. His eyelids seemed glued shut from the amount of buildup on them. A groan escaped his lips and the scraping sound stopped.

"You're awake," a distorted voice that seemed both friendly and devoid of emotion at the same time responded to the groan. Shinso heard shuffling and the running of water. Hearing shuffling again, this time coming towards him, a warm wet rag was placed on his eyes, carefully wiping away the buildup on them. The wet rag was withdrawn, and Shinso carefully opened his eyes, slowly getting adjusted to the light.

He was in what looked like to be an abandoned warehouse. The darkness of night was visible behind the few windows that were there, and the concrete walls were cracked with decaying wooden crates scattered across the large room. A small portable office sat in the one of the large room's corners, with black tinted windows to block out seeing inside it. Training dummies made of sandbags were lined up against the furthest wall from him, and what looked like to be a large boxing ring sat in the opposite corner of the office. Shinso's eyes turned to look towards the man who had wiped the rag against his eyes, recognizing him as the guy who saved him from Katsuki and his lackeys.

He seemed disinterested in Shinso at the moment, already sitting on a decaying crate and sharping one of his knifes. Shinso didn't recognize him, but remembering what one of Katsuki's lackeys said, he assumed he was a vigilante. Odd, because he seemed to be shorter than himself. Shinso sat up and asked the first thing that came to his mind, "Where are we? Who are you?"

The man paused in sharping his knife and looked at Shinso. Green eyes stared back from behind tinted goggles as he responded in a distorted voice. "We are at an abandoned warehouse on the east side of Musutafu that I used for training a few years back. I took you here because you needed medical treatment. My real name is not for you to know, but the media calls me Seigi Akuma. Who are you?"

Shinso faltered, looking at his wallet lying next to him that contained his school ID.

"I didn't look in it; I don't do that without permission."

Shinso nodded in understanding and turned to the vigilante, still not making eye contact as he responded. "Hitoshi Shinso."

The vigilante stared at the purple haired boy, a wave of silence passing before the vigilante uncrossed his legs and turned his whole body to face him. "Don't be afraid to talk to me, I'm not going to hurt you." Shinso winced at the comment from the vigilante, causing the hooded man to sigh. "What's your quirk?"

Shinso averted his gaze from the vigilante, not wanting to answer the question. Another wave of silence passed before the vigilante spoke up again. "Your quirk is response based, isn't it? That's why you don't talk much. From what Kacchan said, it is considered villainous, so you are afraid what people will think when you tell them." Shinso looked at the vigilante once more, wondering why he called Katsuki by a nickname. "Let me tell you something other people have obviously failed to tell you before. _No quirk is villainous_. It all depends on how you use it."

Shinso opened his mouth to respond, but quickly shut it. This was a vigilante. There was no reason to trust this guy. Besides, what would he do if he accidentally used his quirk.

The vigilante watched him patiently as Shinso mulled over his thoughts. After a while, the vigilante spoke up again. "I can think of two possible things your quirk does based on it being response based, as well as being deemed villainous." Shinso looked up to the man again with a confused expression. "Option number one: You can force people to say something they would not reveal otherwise. Option number two: You can brainwash people. Personally, I think it's brainwashing, so if you don't want to speak, you can nod to confirm that."

Shinso stared at the vigilante, mouth agape. How had he guessed his quirk based on two things? Hesitantly, he nodded to confirm it was brainwashing, looking away quickly to avert his gaze once more.

The vigilante stared at the boy for another bout of silence, before he started laughing. Shinso looked up to the man with a confused expression as the vigilante stood up. "That quirk is amazing. Think of all the good it can do! You can stop a hostage situation with a single word or prevent a riot from getting worse. That quirk is basically the number one quirk to resolve an incident without a fight, making it one of the most heroic quirks I have ever heard of!"

Shinso stared at the vigilante in awe as the man walked up to him clasped his hand on Shinso's shoulder, looking at him directly in the eyes. "That quirk is yours, and you can use it how you like. Don't think for a second it is villainous because there are tons of uses for a quirk like that to prevent crimes."

And with that comment, Shinso's wall finally crumbled and he hugged the vigilante with all his might. Tears went down his face and he embraced the only person in his life to tell him his quirk could be heroic. A stranger, no, a vigilante, had said something to him that even his parents hadn't bothered to say. "Thank you."

* * *

Aizawa sat in a large office consisting of two couches on either side of a coffee table. A pitcher of tea sat on the coffee table as well as a filled cup sitting on a saucer, with one more saucer sitting on the table unoccupied. On the couch opposite of the one he was sitting sat a large furry creature drinking from the missing cup. The creature looked odd wearing a formal business suit, being covered in pure white fur and resembling a cross between a bear and a mouse but having the size of a large dog. A large scar ran across his right eye, with the now discolored pink flesh being exposed by the lack of fur. The creature opened his pure black eyes and lowered the now empty cup of tea on the unoccupied saucer.

"Do you any ideas on why I called you here, Eraserhead?" The creature spoke in a chipper and friendly tone towards Aizawa, but there was no mistaking the ominous intelligence and subtlety that lurked behind each word.

Aizawa wasn't afraid of much. Powerful villains and life-threatening situations were all in a day's work for him. But knowing the extremely intelligent creature in front of him that happened to serve as the principal to UA High School, Aizawa couldn't help but feel a tinge of fear whenever he spoke to him. "No. But I'm going to assume that it has something to do with wanting me to work on a case outside the school."

The animal gave a seductive smile as he clasped his paws together. "Correct. Since you have no homeroom class this year, _again_, I want you to help the police in solve a case involving a string of abductions that have been occurring recently. They think they might all be related, and it has gotten me worried. I know you have been focused on this new vigilante recently, but with the information that Muscular and Water Hose have provided, I don't think we can do anything about him anymore."

Aizawa suppressed a groan that he knew wouldn't end well for him if it had been audible. "Nezu," Aizawa tried to keep his voice as level as possible as he addressed the furry creature. "I have every reason to believe that he is as old as our first-year students, if not younger. We might not be able to arrest him, but we still need to protect him from danger."

The principal hummed in acknowledgement before he answered, his jovial tone still holding an ominous aura behind it. "I will not argue against this 'Seigi Akuma' person being in danger with what he does. But, simply put, there is nothing we can do about him. We have no authority to make him stop what he does if he is not breaking the law."

Aizawa knew the animal was right in every way, but this vigilante wasn't just something he could let go. A ridiculous idea popped up in his head, and Aizawa cursed himself internally as he made his thoughts known. "So maybe we don't stop him. We can have him work with us instead so that we can supervise him."

Nezu raised his non-existent eyebrows at the suggestion and went to pour a new cup of tea. "You're suggesting we involve him in a police investigation?"

"No, I'm not saying that. Look, this guy is obviously very skilled in gathering information. I looked over his YoTube account last night and watched some of his videos. Maybe we can have him gather information for us to lighten the load on the case."

The furry creature smiled as he drank from his cup once more, allowing a few seconds of silence before he lowered it to respond. "That seems reasonable, but you have to talk to the police chief about it as well. I'm not sure they will be as understanding of the idea as me."

"They will agree. The chief owes me a favor," Aizawa responded coldly. He was getting uncomfortable being alone with the creature in front of him at this point.

"Excellent. I'm sure you can keep him out of extreme danger if you have him work for you, and it will give us an opportunity to get close to him. If possible, we might be able to have him attend UA and give him the ability to use his quirk legally should he need to use it."

"Thank you, Nezu," Aizawa said, exhaling the air in his lungs he didn't even realize he had been holding.

As he moved to stand up, Nezu stopped him. "Aizawa. While I trust your judgement on this, please be careful. Some of his videos have revealed a deep hatred for certain heroes as well as the hero system as a whole."

Aizawa nodded, remembering the video PopStep had showed him when he met with her. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

* * *

"You want to train me?" Shinso stared at the vigilante as he shuffled through a extensive armory of weapons, carrying himself in a cheerful manner. Of all the things he expected from the ruthless vigilante he had read about on the news; this was not it.

"Yeah! You see, I don't have a quirk that can cause injury. That's why I work as a vigilante. I can't get in trouble," The vigilante looked back at Shinso as he pulled out two short staffs. "But you! You gotta get certified to use your quirk without getting in trouble. So, if you want to become a hero, you need to be able to pass the exams for the course."

"I don't understand. Why would you do that for me?" Shinso faltered at the logic the vigilante was providing. The man had already convinced him to tell his parents he was with a friend so they wouldn't worry and they could talk, but he didn't expect the vigilante to go so far for him once he mentioned he wanted to go to UA.

"Because you have potential. I can see it in you. The makings of a true hero," the hooded man walked up to Shinso and held out the two staffs. "These are what you call Eskrima sticks. You hold one in each hand, and if you become a pro, you can probably add some kind of electrification to them."

Shinso hesitantly took one in each hand, tossing them around in his hand to get used to the weight. The vigilante watched with a glint in his eyes. "I don't have any experience using weapons. What am I supposed to do with these?"

The man chuckled taking the sticks away from Shinso. "Nothing, right now." He gestured to Shinso as a whole before continuing. "For one, you don't have any muscle. For another, I still haven't determined your true intentions behind being a hero."

Shinso's face wilted in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

The man waved a hand in dismissal as he put the two Eskrima sticks back in his little armory. "I didn't lie when I said you had the _makings_ of a true hero. But you are not one. Not yet at least. Tell me, why do you want to be a hero. Is it for fame? Money? Or a desire to help?"

Shinso pondered what he knew was a trick question before finally settling on an answer. "You can't help what your heart longs for," he said simply.

The man nodded slowly and tilted his head side to side, considering the answer. "That you can't. But there must be more than that. Every child wants to be a hero when they are young. The reasons behind that desire separate the good heroes from the bad. I want to ask a serious question right now. Katsuki Bakugo. He was the one bullying you right?" Shinso nodded. "Let's put you in a hypothetical situation. Kacchan is in danger of being killed. You are the only one able to save his life, but it will cost you your own. What do you do?"

Shinso ignored the nickname the vigilante called Katsuki for the moment as he mulled over the question. There was some kind of trick behind it, he knew, but the answer seemed obvious. "I would save his life, right? No matter the cost?"

The vigilante hummed in acknowledgement before responding. "The answer is trickier than that. See, although you answered correctly, you lacked conviction behind those words. I have no doubt you would not do what you said you _should_ do. My job right now is to correct that."

Shinso averted his gaze in defeat. The vigilante wasn't wrong; his perception is one of the first things he noticed about the man. But even as the vigilante said it, he had no idea how he would fix it. He held no love for the blond-haired bully and didn't see himself risking his life for the sake of his.

"Don't look so defeated," the distorted voice said, knocking him out of his stupor. "I had the same problem when I started training. It's not an easy fix, true, but the fact of the matter is it _can_ be fixed."

Shinso nodded, looking back to the vigilante. Although he acted like a little child at times, he did have a way with encouraging words. "So how can it be fixed?"

The vigilante chuckled, walking to the only door of the warehouse that was not boarded up and opening it. "That depends on you. We are done for right now. I will be watching you and contact you again soon. I hope you don't mind that I already added your number to my phone."

Shinso nodded, knowing he wouldn't get anything else from the vigilante at the moment. Standing up and walking to the door, he shook hands with his unlikely friend. "Until we meet again, Hitoshi Shinso. When the time comes, I have no doubt you will do what's needed."

Shinso's brow furrowed at the perplexing statement. "Right... I'll see you later."

* * *

Patrolling at night always made Izuku uneasy. He wasn't sure what it was about it – whether it be the dark, the natural increase of criminal activity, or the decrease in the number of hero patrols. The only redeeming factor about it is that it allowed him to spend a longer period of time out and about before he needed to go back to the orphanage before someone realized he was missing. For the past week, he hadn't been able to patrol during the day due to a large assignment the teacher there assigned on Monday and having to patrol in the dark all week was starting to get him on edge. To make it worse, someone had been following him for the past two hours on this particular night.

He stopped on the roof of a three-story building overlooking a train station and waited for the person that had been following him to catch up. He didn't bother drawing one of his weapons. The person already had plenty of opportunities to attack him while he was being followed, so he was sure he wasn't in danger. Sitting down on the ledge of the flat roofed building, he looked behind him as he heard someone land from the adjacent rooftop.

The man was clad in loose, baggy clothing, all colored black to blend in with the darkness. An overly long gray scarf was wrapped around his neck, covered his shoulders and upper chest and probably going around his body at least 50 times. On his face, he wore golden goggles with slits built into them to allow seeing through them without being able to see past from the outside, although it served another purpose of allowing the use of eye drops without taking them off.

"Eraserhead," Izuku greeted the hero as he turned back to look down towards the street. "You know, if you want to follow someone without being spotted, a good rule of thumb is to stay out of sight for reflections as well. You here to arrest me?"

The hero stood there for a moment, looking at Izuku who had his back completely turned to the potential threat. After a moment, he decided on something to say. "How old are you, kid?"

Izuku turned to look at the pro hero once more. He had taken his goggles off, allowing Izuku to see the darkened bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. Coupled with his unkempt hair that obviously hadn't been cut in months and badly shaven beard, if it wasn't for the scarf and the goggles resting on his forehead Izuku could have mistaken him for a homeless man. "What kind of question is that?"

"One that needs answering," Aizawa shot back. "You use a voice changer so people can't tell how young you are, but your height alone speaks volumes."

Izuku tilted his head side to side, understanding the logic. "Well if you really must know," Izuku started, looking back to the street. "I'll be 15 in July."

The answer elicited a groan from the Erasure hero and Izuku heard him facepalm. "What do your parent's think about what you are doing? Do they even know?"

"My dad disowned me at the age of four, and my mom was forced to put me in the foster system because she couldn't support both of us. I don't think either would care," Izuku looked back to the hero with an intense fire burning behind his eyes. "Why the hell are you so concerned! I can handle myself and I'm not breaking any laws!"

Aizawa stared back at the boy with an entirely different expression than before. A mix of sorrow and… Maybe pity? Izuku couldn't place his finger on what the hero was thinking before the hero spoke up once more. "You might not be breaking any laws, but you are younger than first year hero course students at UA. You shouldn't be fighting powerful villains like Muscular at that age, especially while not using a quirk."

"Oh! So, quirks are everything now!? You can't fend for yourself without one!? Bullshit!" Izuku was angrier than he had ever been before at that moment. He had proven he could be a hero without a quirk with Muscular, but heroes were obviously too stubborn to move past it still. "I beat Muscular using this," Izuku pointed to his head as he continued to rant. "No quirk. I used my brain. You forget that 200 years ago, quirks did not exist! The human race is not defined by the superpowers they possess, they are defined by being the most intelligent species on the planet! You of all people, with you having the quirk that you have, should understand that!"

The pro hero silently stood there as Izuku finished his rant, slowly nodding his head after he was finished. "So, you _are_ quirkless."

"Does that make _any_ fucking difference?" Izuku shot back. His entire perception on this hero hinged on the answer he was now tasked in giving as Izuku waited.

"No," Eraserhead answered after a full minute of silence. "It makes no difference. Your fight with Muscular proved that."

"Fucking pathetic," Izuku sighed in exasperation as he stood up and prepared to continue his patrol. "The fact you need proof for it says that you wouldn't believe me otherwise. I'm going to continue my patrol and unless you want your teeth knocked out, don't follow me."

"Wait," Eraserhead's desperate voice stopped him as he was about to start running. "I, uh… I need your help."

Izuku turned to the hero. Knowing the pro in front of him, he wouldn't have turned to him unless he was desperate. That, or wanting to minimize the danger for Izuku with something he can be a part of. Still, Izuku knew how much asking for help from him hurt the hero's pride. "Alright. I'll give you a second chance. What do you want?"

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Ah, things are heating up, aren't they? Chapters are going to be getting progressively longer at this point, as we have finished the prologue of the story and we are going to be getting into the first arc before UA begins.**

**What do you think of Izuku and Shinso? Izuku is willing to train Shinso, however that is only if Shinso proves to Izuku that he is a true hero. Do you think Shinso will be able to do it?**

**Eraserhead and Izuku meet again, and Izuku mentions his past family. I didn't think Inko would give Izuku up unless something extreme happened or she wasn't able to support him, but his father hasn't made an appearance in canon yet, so I did what I wanted with him. Expect flashbacks on Izuku during his training and before going to the orphanage in the future, as there are some things that I feel like can only be explain through the past.**

**On a side note, Eraserhead almost screwed up with Izuku there. Only when he asked for help did Izuku calm down. What do you think Izuku working with Eraser will bring in the future?**

**As always, your thoughts/comment/suggestions are always appreciated, and I'll see you in the next chapter.**

* * *

**No Fun Facts today…**


	6. Haunted Past

***INHALES* NOTIMETOTALK!THISCHAPTERISAWEEKLATEANDWEGOTREVIEWSBEFOREWECANEVENSTARTIT!**

**Scarease:** It will be explained how he got the stuff later.

**UnlawfulGentleman:** Yeah… I don't really read any _American_ comics. All manga for me. And you mentioning a Daredevil show is also the first I have heard of it. I don't really watch TV either. I have no life… You getting the year surprised me. I was more looking for what happened on that day, so I didn't expect someone to get the year.

Izuku is much like Stain in that he doesn't hold any love for false heroes. The only difference is he doesn't hunt them to extinction. In order for Shinso to get trained and be in the hero course, he must first face the task of proving himself.

As for Shinso and Bakugo… Yeah… Bullying has that effect on people, I know that firsthand. Izuku in canon and Shinso in here is me in middle school and Izuku in here is who I wished I could be towards _some people_ in middle school. #StoryOfMyLife

And as for Izuku and Eraserhead… We will have to see if Eraser can recover Izuku's disappointment over his answer on being a hero without a quirk.

**Guest:** Izuku and Momo, huh? As much as I love those pairings, it simply wouldn't work in this story with the way I have it planned. Momo doesn't really have the stomach for the sort of violence Izuku participates in, and I can't see them getting close. Same for Izuku and Ochaco.

**ethanplayz87:** Izuku and Aizawa are intentional. It is one of the relationships I felt was missing in canon, as Izuku had a quirk by the time they first met.

Oh, and how did you find out my secret quirk? I even broke my toe to make it double jointed and keep it secret! :P

**ProjectIceman:** Shinso and Izuku is also another relationship that I felt was missing in canon. It was just too good to pass up!

**Jack Redhawke:** Alright, let me start off by being blunt and saying I don't like you. Although I appreciate what you are trying to do in making the story better, just pointing out grammar flaws isn't the way to do it. If it really bothers you, offer to beta read or point them out in addition to something else as well. For example, I know I can make much needed improvements to fight scenes, so people saying how I can improve those would be welcome.

I don't mind criticism (read: _constructive_ criticism) and feedback; I use that to improve. I don't care if you trash talk my story and have nothing good to say; I'll just ignore you. But it is really degrading to spend hours in research and writing just for someone to point out I used "knifes" instead of "knives". Please be mindful of that in the future, both for me and others. Thanks.

**nedrag94:** Thanks! It's right here!

**Shullmer:** That's what I'm thinking as well. I will probably have a pairing for Shinso, but I'm just not sure if I want to do one for Izuku, despite it having several ways it can work.

**All-Bite:** Thanks! I do try. The pace might get a little slower these next few weeks as I got a writing assignment for my one of my classes and I don't really think fanfiction would be acceptable. :P

Izuku will have a part in UA. I will not say any more than that other than it will be much different than canon. The numbers I explained in chapter 5. It was really in depth and no one was even expected to get it.

As for Izuku and Ochako… No… Maybe Shinso and Ochako (but even that would be a huge stretch), but Izuku wouldn't fit in this story.

**arianamazi1382:** Thank you! I took inspiration from a lot of them, but I felt like they were missing the element of ruthlessness vigilantes often have.

As for my update schedule… Short answer is I don't have one. I'll try to have at least one chapter every week (Sundays), and have been good about doing that until now, but the fact of the matter is I go to school full time, work part time and have around 6 or 7 mods I manage on Nexus Mods for Fallout 4. All these things take priority over writing, and if something else comes up that does as well, I may miss a week or two (though I doubt I will miss two in a row). If I miss Sundays, that is usually my day off so I may have a chapter on Monday, but, again, other things in life take priority. I will not abandon the story (I never like leaving things unfinished), but updates may sometimes be irregular.

**NOWONTOTHENEXTCHAPTER!ENJOY!**

* * *

"_The feeling of being rejected, disapproved of, or conditionally loved by one's primary caregivers is a monumental, long-lasting burden for a child to carry. It produces chronic shame, guilt, and anxiety. The child is blamed for doing something wrong and in doing so learns to perceive themselves as being bad." _

_\- Darius Cikanavicius, Human Development and Trauma: How Childhood Shapes Us into Who We Are as Adults_

* * *

_ "Our son is _what_!?" Hisashi Midoriya's voice thundered through Inko's phone, making the poor woman flinch at the sudden loudness of his voice._

_ "Well, since his quirk hasn't showed up, I had him examined and the doctor discovered he had two toe joints. The doctor explained that—"_

_ "I fucking know what having two toe joints means!" Hisashi's abrupt voice interrupted his wife's once more. "I also know that my son _cannot_ have that! There is no possible way that I have a quirkless child!"_

_ "Honey, please calm down," Inko moved her wheelchair away from her son's room to limit him hearing the conversation. "The doctor said it is a 1 in 5 chance for someone to be quirkless, and—"_

_ "NO! This isn't because of chance! This is because of _your_ family. Both your siblings were quirkless! My family is made up of renowned heroes in China, and not a single one of my relatives are quirkless!" Hisashi's fire breath quirk almost seemed to make Inko's own phone heat up in her hands. "I don't care if that child is related to me by blood, that's all he is. I will not send extra money to you to pay for a useless kid!"_

_ "Hisashi! This is our kid whether you like it or not! We have an obligation to him!" Inko's own voice raised as her husband brought up the possibility of giving her only child up because of an extra joint in his foot. _

_ "So, you still plan on taking care of something that will never be able to take care of itself?"_

_ "Our son is not an 'it', Hisashi! And you should feel the same way as me! He's your son too!" Inko screamed over the phone, unaware of the small green eyes watching her._

_ "No! Not anymore! It is him or me! And I know you can't support both of you with your disability checks!"_

_ "I'll make you pay child support! You have an obligation to—"_

_ "You? How will _you_ make me pay child support? With your family's army of lawyers? Whatever you through at me, I will throw three times as much back. That child will not see another dime coming his way from me!"_

_ "You bastard!" Inko screamed, making the green haired boy who was watching flinch. "Does the fact that in the process of giving up this child that you are making me give him up as well even pass through your mind!? You might not love him, but I do!"_

_ "Yeah. See how far love takes you. You will be receiving divorce papers by next week." Hisashi spoke flatly as he hung up, making his now ex-wife through the phone in anger. The distraught woman slumped down in her wheelchair, defeated and shedding enough tears to fill a bathtub._

_ "Mom? What's wrong?" The green haired boy stepped out from behind the corner he was hiding behind to comfort his poor mother._

_ The crying woman flinched at her son's voice, eventually holding her hands out to her son. As they embraced in a hug meant to comfort them both, Inko Midoriya uttered the same words over and over. "I'm so sorry, Izuku."_

* * *

Izuku's eyes shot open as he snapped himself out of his nightmare, hitting his head on the empty bunk bed above him as his body shot up. Drenched in sweat, he tried to get his breathing and pulse under control and calm down. The words his mother spoke to him that night kept repeating in his head as he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to forget the painful memory.

After about five minutes, Izuku had finally gotten his breathing under control. He swung his legs off the edge of the bed and clutched his throbbing head. That phone call with his father had sent his life down a spiraling path that led him to where he was now, and he held every ounce of contempt within him towards the man. What he could not bring himself to hate, however, was his mother.

Besides his mother and the vigilante who trained him, no one cared about him any more than one cares for a homeless man begging on the street. Everyone saw the quirkless population as people who couldn't fend for themselves, who had to be spoon-fed every part of their life in order to survive. His mother went through extensive research on the orphanages in the area when she realized she had no choice but to put him in the foster system; singling out orphanages with a higher adoption rate so he would have a better chance at finding a family quickly. It didn't work, obviously, but the thought was still there.

A phone buzzed on his dresser, making Izuku turn his head to see what it was. Picking up his new flip phone, an ancient device that Izuku didn't even think was made anymore, he saw that Eraserhead had finally sent some of the files on the recent abductions. Eraserhead had given him a phone to stay in touch with Izuku when he had agreed to help him with his case since Izuku didn't trust the man to have his own number. He couldn't decide whether he regretted that decision or not, because the flip phone he had given him was a pain to use.

Scrolling through the dozens of folders Eraser had given him, each one detailing a different person that had been kidnapped, Izuku sighed and set the phone down. He could study them in detail later. His alarm clock told him it was 5:23, too early in the morning to go on patrol before school at the orphanage started.

Being homeschooled came with both its plus and minuses. On one hand, he usually finished the work early and was allowed to do whatever he wanted afterwards without the fear of someone discovering his alter ego. On the flipside, however, he was always required to be present when school started in the morning as being discovered missing from his room wouldn't be good for keeping what he does in his free time secret.

With nothing better to do and his peaceful sleep ruined, Izuku groaned and stood up; opening his room's door to go downstairs and get something to eat.

* * *

_Villain._ Hitoshi Shinso absolutely despised the word that was all too often used to describe himself. Shinso adored heroes all his life, yet as soon as he turned four, he somehow joined the other side. It wasn't his fault; far from it. Everyone has accidents when their quirks manifest. So how was his different, especially when no one got hurt?

The answer was simple. When he had told the bully who snatched his All Might action figure to give it back, he did it with no hesitation. If he had told him to do something else, it would have been the same story. If he told him to do take his clothes off, he would be naked in seconds. If he told him to eat a rock, he would break every single one of his teeth trying. If he had told him to jump out the window, he wouldn't even have flinched. He had no intention of doing any of these evil things, but the fact was he _could_.

He had taken the other boy's free will. And that terrified people. He didn't blame them. He would be scared to if he were in their shoes. But he liked to think that he would give himself a chance, despite that fear.

However, life isn't that simple. After discovering his quirk, he became an outcast. No one wanted to be around him, not even his old friends. He tried his hardest to make other people see him as something else, but no one gave him a second thought. He was called names. They didn't even try doing it behind his back.

_Villain_, they all said.

Don't make the _villain_ mad, they whispered.

_Villain_ this, _villain_ that.

Shinso just learned to take it in stride. He never used his quirk even once after it manifested and had it tested. There was no point. He knew what his extremely powerful quirk was and how it worked. But most importantly, he knew what other people thought about it.

His parents transferred him to a different school. A _smaller_ school. They said it was to hide his quirk so he could befriend others. But Shinso knew better. He could see the fear in their eyes too. They wanted to protect others _from_ him.

He tried to hide his quirk for a while after that. Claimed he was quirkless. In some ways that was worse than having a quirk. Instead of driving people away, it attracted bullies. His classmates kept comparing him to 'Deku', another kid who had long since left. He was beaten, teased and harassed in every way possible, mainly by the one and only Katsuki Bakugo – the school's golden child. With a flashy hero quirk, he was allowed to do as he pleased; and he chose to belittle those lower than himself. But he could do no wrong. After all, with _his_ quirk, the only option for him is to become a hero.

One day, Shinso snapped. He hadn't meant to use his quirk. He didn't hurt anyone. But in stopping Bakugo from bullying another classmate and making him leave the room with a single command, his quirk was again public. He was again looked at with fear.

Bakugo began singling him out even more, despite knowing his quirk. Furious that he had been tricked, and even more mad that he 'lost' to Shinso when he followed his command, Shinso received even more beatings from the explosive blond. He never fought back, but he always voiced his arguments against how the blond could be so abusive and still want to be a hero.

His parents refused to send him to another school. They even went as far as to keep him with the same kids when junior high came around. They saw the beatings he received as a sign that the kids at his school could defend themselves from him. They hadn't seen him as their child anymore since his quirk appeared, and the beatings were not enough to change their minds. In the back of his mind, Shinso almost felt like he should become a _villain_.

Then that man appeared. A man in a green hoodie, carrying enough knifes to supply a restaurant and two swords that seemed half as long as the man was tall. A man who had stepped out of his way to help Shinso when he was being beaten by Katsuki and his lackeys out of the kindness of his heart. A man who Shinso had no doubt had killed people before yet was shorter than himself. A man obsessed with separating the so called 'true' heroes from the 'false' ones. And most importantly, a man who said he could become a _hero_.

_"When the time comes, I have no doubt you will do what's needed."_

Those were the last words the man had said to him when they met two weeks ago. Since then, he had yet to hear again from the mysterious vigilante. With what little sleep the purple-haired insomniac was able to get, the words always appeared in every one of his dreams. They plagued him in every waking moment through his thoughts. It was like a riddle he couldn't figure out and it was driving him crazy.

Shinso growled in frustration as he threw his pencil on his desk, earning a few awkward – but mostly fearful – glances from the students sitting next to him. He couldn't even focus on his homework for tomorrow before class started. How was he supposed to get through the rest of the day?

As if on cue, his homeroom teacher, Mr. Neji, walked in with a panicked expression and holding a thick stack of papers. "Sorry I'm late, everyone. I had to print these out for you." He set the papers down with a large thump, as if the all the pages together weighed as much as a textbook.

Shinso didn't care much for Mr. Neji. The aged man was his homeroom teacher last year as well, and over the time Shinso had learned nothing from the man. Instead of teaching, he was more concerned with making sure everyone in his class was proud of their quirks and told them that they could do anything in life the wanted as long as they put in the effort. He was against discrimination of quirks and bullying; however, towards Shinso, he acted much differently, as with everyone else who knew his quirk. He allowed bullying towards the boy and avoided him like the plague out of fear. It was strange how just having a certain a quirk could make everyone in your life avoid you like a ticking bomb.

Mr. Neji stood behind his desk in the front of the room and picked up the top five pages on the stack, which were stapled together, showing waving it for the class to see. On the top of the first page was the bold words saying 'Career Aptitude Form'. "As you know you guys are third years now. Some of you have turned in forms similar to this last year, but it's time for every one of you to start thinking seriously about what you want to do with your lives." The teacher let his unusual seriousness settle before giving a grin that spread ear to ear. "But who am I kidding? I know you all want to go to the hero track!"

Shinso groaned as the class exploded in to cheers, everyone going for the opportunity to show off their quirks. For once, Shinso had believed his teacher was taking his job seriously. He tuned out the noise and leaned back in his chair to rest his eyes as the teacher struggled to get the class to calm down, not even noticing the explosive blond who so often bullied him bragging about himself having the only shot at UA and becoming a hero.

"Shinso, don't you want to go to UA too?" Shinso opened his eyes at the sound of Mr. Neji's voice to see the entire class staring at him with a mix of fear and surprise. He didn't even need to strain his hearing to overhear the whispers. Whispers of the _villain_.

_'Of course, he would single me out.'_ Shinso grimaced as he sat up straighter to speak his mind. The beating Bakugo would undoubtedly give him for what he was going to say next didn't even cross his mind. All that was in his mind was the inspiring words the hooded vigilante said to him just over two weeks ago. "Yes. I'll be a hero and my quirk isn't going to stop me."

* * *

"Don't you think you were a little hard on Shinso today, Bakugo?"

The teenager in question grimaced as one of his friends pointed out how cruel the beating he gave Shinso was – even by his usual standards. "It's his own fault for saying he's going to UA. I'm the only one from our crappy school that's supposed to get in. The worthless villain has to learn somehow."

"Yeah, but he didn't really deserve getting blasted in the chest that hard. That last hit was uncalled for. I'm surprised you didn't break anything." Bakugo's other friend scratched his rocky hair as he averted his gaze from the hate filled glare that the blond was giving him. "I mean, if you hurt him, won't that affect you going into UA?"

Bakugo scoffed, unconcerned with the possibility. "Yeah, right. No one is going to report it and people won't believe a villain over me."

His other friend glanced at their rocky companion with a wary look before turning back to Bakugo. "Let's just get it off our mind. We can go to the arcade by the station if you feel up to it."

"Or we can go to the new bar near there. Pick up some ladies." The rocky boy said with a smirk.

"Idiot! If we get caught for that, there is no way UA would let me in!" Bakugo turned to yell at the ignorant boy, unaware of the shadow forming over him.

The two boys with him paled, pointing behind him. "What's that?"

Bakugo turned, seeing a huge green pile of sludge growing in height behind him. The sludge creature's pale-yellow eyes stared at him and it opened its mouth of white teeth. "Perfect! I like a skinsuit with some fire!"

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**I know what you are going to say. This chapter is both late **_**and**_** shorter than usual with only just under 3 K words dedicated to the actual chapter. I am sorry. I just had a writing assignment in my class and had to focus on that before this, not to mention that my mom's birthday came around last Sunday and I wanted to spend time with her rather than writing. So, I am sorry for the delay, and I won't even try saying it won't happen again because it will. Real life **_**always**_** takes priority. **

**I want to do a shout out to rawrxsushi for his story 'Of Smokes and Mirrors'. I was really inspired on how he explained Shinso's past in his story without the use of flashbacks and if you read his story, you may see similarities like how I _italicized_ the word 'villain' in it. I thought that was a nice touch and I shamelessly copied that. I really like his story on Shinso and the OC's are actually not that bad, so I can't recommend his story enough.**

**So… Now that that is done… We are finally on the canon timeline! We will not have a training montage skipping 10 months, rather the next 10 months will get an entire arc in the story dedicated to it before UA. We also had some insight on both Shinso's and Izuku's past, both having similar experiences with completely different circumstances. The abduction case will start in earnest next chapter, along with Izuku's second meeting with Shinso.**

**Again, sorry for the delay, and until next time!**

* * *

**Author's Side Notes: **

**I am currently working on 2 more fanfics that I might be posting soon. One is another MHA fanfic, inspired by Griffin Strange's 'Prohibited Power' story (I really liked his idea on Izuku having All for One, but unwilling to use it to be a hero, as well as his relationship with the villain), and another is a Tokyo Ghoul fanfic! Yes, you read that right. The anime for :re sucked and the manga's ending really turned me and obviously a lot of the fan base off, as it's not as big anymore, but in all my reading of the Tokyo Ghoul fanfics, I have yet to find one where Kaneki is still _human_. I won't spoil much more than he will be a human on the side of the ghouls and it is in for a huge divergence from what we read from the manga for that reason. If any of you guys are interested in that, I should be coming out with those stories late October or early November when I finish planning the outlines for them and can actually start writing.**

* * *

**Fun Fact:**

**The homeroom teacher's name, Neji (written as ****子師****), contains the characters meaning child (****子****) and teacher (****師****).**


	7. Rewrite

I started a rewrite of this fic on AO3. I got a little disillusioned with this site after some of the people here and their comments. If you want to see the rewrite, it's under the same title and the same username on AO3. I hope over there people will not bash on my writing for no reason. If you have nothing good to say, then don't say anything.


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